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Dual Product Power Plant Proposed

Aurora Renewable Energy News Release

Aurora Renewable Energy, Inc. (ARE) has proposed the first combined waste-to-energy/waste-to-product plant to the residents of Molokai as a means of becoming energy independent. During I Aloha Molokai’s Energy Festival, attendees on Molokai got a first look at the diagram for a combined 10 megawatt (MW) power plant and compound production plant that would use the island’s combined waste streams as fuel.

ARE’s integrated system gasifies municipal solid wastes, sewage sludge, farm wastes, and other biomass waste streams to their base elements and then reforms these gas if led elements tor electricity generation. The remaining reformed gas — commonly referred to as synthesis gas or Syngas — will be further processed into other usable products such as fertilizer or biodiesel for on-island use.

The proposed project is designed to lower overall electricity costs for Molokai residents, decrease waste stream flow, and lower greenhouse gas emissions on the island. As currently envisioned nearly 400 interim jobs would be created (combined on-island and mainland) during construction with nearly 25 permanent on-site jobs. Over the past several years, Molokai has looked at several renewable energy projects, but the proposed plant marks the first two-product, non-intermittent electricity and fertilizer or biodiesel option that has been presented.

“We are in the very early stages of the projects. If the residents of Molokai are favorable to the plant, [ARE] will begin the next phase of conducting a feasibility study on the project,” said Bruce Corzine, ARE managing director. Plant design, permitting, engineering, and construction are estimated to take two years. Preliminary estimates show the plant’s total costs at approximately $30 to $35 million.

Headquartered in Orange County, California, Aurora Renewable Energy, Inc. specializes in the processing of biomass and waste-gases into marketable energy, chemical and petrochemical products through synthesis reaction. We are energy’s future!

Just tried to get onto Aurora’s website and it said account has been suspended. If this is the same compny I would hope that there would be a lot of hard investigations before anyone agrees to anything. Sounds like a great idea but why don’t they do it on Oahu and no wind turbines on Molokai.

Not sure why it wasn’t working earlier. The idea is to bring a sustainable option that takes care of both waste and the fact that Molokai has the highest electricity rate in the country. We believe that people on Oahu and Maui are more geared to making profit off of projects and designing them with many flaws because of this. We are looking for a solution that will actually provide benefits to the people and environment of the respected areas.